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[Big John]

I have to say that, so often, when I have heard someone say that they were serving the Lord, that this statement bugged me.

 

I would look at these people a bit askance because it seemed a rather bold and self-righteous statement to make.  I would look at their lives (and mine) and wonder what gave them the right to say this.  (not saying their might not have been a little judgement or self-righteousness going on on my part.)  It just always seemed like the thing that ones life should declare without opening ones mouth.  Know what I mean?

 

Anyway, on a whim, I plugged the question into Google and got some pretty good responses.  The very first one was so simple and I really liked.

 

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So the kind of service that makes God look valuable and thrilling is the kind that serves God by constantly receiving from God. The key text to describe this is 1 Peter 4:11 —

“Whoever serves, [let it be] as one who serves by the strength that God supplies—in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ.”

God is seen as glorious when all our serving is moment-by-moment receiving from God’s supply.

We receive this supply by faith. That is, we trust moment-by-moment that what we need, in serving him, he will supply (“life, breath, and everything”). This is the opposite of being anxious. Such serving is happy. And it makes God look no less authoritative, but infinitely more desirable. This is the glory he means to have. The giver gets the glory. 

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"It reminds me of something my grandfather always preached or said.  God gives us a little heaven to go to heaven in." 

 

Our service to God should be joyful and should simply be an overflow.  The overflow of the love and joy that we feel in our hearts for Him.  People sense God in us not cause we are nice to them, though we are, or because we speak with grace, though we do, or when we rise up in true righteous indignation, though we do.  Its becasue they can sense, in some small way, that those actions do not come from us being such a great person but rather they are feeling the overflow of the time we have spent before His throne. 

 

Its like when Moses was on Mt Sinai and when he came down the people needed him to wear a cover on his face because he was glowing from the "radiation" he absorbed from Gods glory!  It doesn't need to be said.  I guess I somehow knew that there was something wrong with broadcasting " I serve the Lord".  It should be evident.  And I believe thats how we win people to the Lord.  Not by tracts or sharing or whatever. 

 

One of the biggest things I learned in studying church history was about the initial growth of christianity.  It grew at a huge rate in the early centuries for a coulpe of reasons.  For one, there had never really been a philosophy of good and love and serving others but more importantly the christians in that day actually FELT like doing good.  There are so many stories of christians actually walking up to somone who was carrying a heavy load, would take the loaf and carry it to their destination.  Or taking a stranger into their house for a meal because they were hungry.  You get the picture.

 

Christians simply gave out of a heart that was full of love for a God who had given so much to them.  And they did it without much of the understanding that we have today.  Not going to get into it now but they didn't have centuries of the Fathers of the church working out a lot of the doctrinal questions we now just accept as normal.  And they had the church of brethren encouraging each other in the faith.  Americanized "churchianity" very often has little to do with what church was meant to be.  But good and real churches do actually exist.

 

Well, I am really shooting off this morning.  I'll just say that "freely you have received, so freely give".  If we aren't serving God from a heart that is overflowing, we probably need to check in with God and see whats missing.  We don't give/serve out of our needyness or hurt.  But we serve out of that overflow that we have from spending time with Him. 

 

Ephesians 1

 

¹⁷ That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him:

¹⁸ The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints,

¹⁹ And what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of his mighty power, 

 

The riches of His glory!  Thats where the overflow comes from. 

 

And thats why we serve the Lord.  He has already given me more than I can contain!  So who can anything but serve so great a saviour. 

 

Big John

[Candice]

Big John,

 

I can really relate to your first sentence.  I've heard a couple of people just really lay it out there how they're so faithfully serving the Lord.  I guess it is really boastful.  But, then again, I've blown it too and I'm sure I've bugged people by saying something in a boastful way.

 

I believe, through patience and waiting on God, that we can see His desire for our serving Him. 

 

Do you think that the Lord puts burdens on our hearts when we ask Him to show us where and how to serve?  I do believe this.   I believe that our priorities within family is clear scripturally.  For example, my primary ministry needs to be for me to love the Lord with all my heart, soul and strength, then my husband and then my son, then outside the home.  Maybe that's arguable for some people.  I don't think it's easy to keep this in line like a set of blocks.  But, I've experience the toppling personally when I don't tend to those in this manner as I should.

 

The burdens for others that God gives us can be honored by our loving Him first.  I truly don't believe in box-checking to please others.  I've done it and it can lead to disasters.

 

I've waited several years, with a burden on my heart, waiting on God's timing, to get a nursing degree so I can go overseas part-time and help the poorest of the poor.   Also, I can help out here by working, at age 59 when I'd graduate (if accepted), as a home health or hospice nurse.  I will volunteer for hospice in the Spring and begin nursing school and the Lord will have to conduct all of it because there's no way I can do this myself.  All of this, first of all, must be His will.  I just pray that He will open and close doors according to His will so that I do not proceed to anything that results in some way not pleasing to Him.

 

I believe in the burdens. Those burdens, appropriated in patience, will lead to glorifying God if we remain humbly before Him and love Him first with all our hearts, soul and strength, then our spouse, our kids, our extended families, then others in ministry outside that priority.  I've messed up too many times, been disciplined by the Lord and get the point by now.  Hope this leads to glorifying God to unbelievers if I remain humble and faithful to Him.

 

Blessings,

Candice